SANTA CRUZ >> A year after winter storms caused $130 million in damages to Santa Cruz County roads, experts will assess damage to the 32-mile rail line running from Davenport to Watsonville — including the trestle overlooking Capitola Village since 1910.

The board of the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, which owns the rail line, voted 10-1 Thursday to authorize on-call engineering consultant contracts for up to $500,000 to inspect the 32 bridges and other infrastructure, calculate maximum loads and make recommendations for repairs.

Funding will come from Measure D passed by voters in 2016.

“Capitola has a trestle in distress,” said commissioner Randy Johnson, a Scotts Valley City Council member, who voted no, saying he wanted to wait for the corridor study due in December on where to target transportation investments.

“We’re doing this for our own peace of mind,” RTC senior engineer Sarah Christensen, said of the inspections.

The RTC is negotiating with Progressive Rail of Lakeville, Minn., which proposed a 20-year agreement to provide freight and passenger service with the expectation that the RTC would restore the track conditions to standards first.

Since the storms, only a 3-mile stretch of track in Watsonville is usable, according to Luis Mendez, RTC deputy director.

The Capitola bridge hasn’t been used for more than a year because of storm damage. Capitola representatives are concerned because the trestle sits above the village where people live and work.

TARDY INSPECTION

“Inspection should have been done last year,” said RTC commissioner Jacques Bertrand, a Capitola City Council member, who wants the trestle foundations in Soquel Creek to get scrutiny.

A 2012 engineering assessment of the Capitola trestle found train speeds would have to be reduced to 10 miles per hour unless a $600,000 rehab took place to allow speeds of 30 miles per hour. That rehab didn’t happen because the La Selva bridge needed reconstruction and cost more than planned, leaving little for repairs elsewhere, according to Luis Mendez, RTC deputy director.

The Federal Railway Administration requires a railroad operator to do inspections every 540 days, but they “are not shared with us,” Mendez said, referring to inspections by the last operator, Iowa Pacific.

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The Federal Railway Administration inspected the line in 2016, but that was before the winter storms.

Mendez said he would ask Progressive Rail to share its inspections, though he expected that report “is not as comprehensive as what we are proposing to do now.”

Asked about the time frame for repairs, Christensen said, “There are a lot of unknowns.”

Proposals for inspections are due Friday from the seven consultants, and her goal is to have those done by the end of summer, then put repairs out to bid.

Attendees from Santa Cruz Greenway were disappointed to see more money going into rail as they favor a trail instead but rail supporter Barry Scott wants the county to be ready to take advantage of money in the state’s rail plan.

MINNESOTA VISIT

At the meeting’s outset, commissioner Ed Bottorff said he and RTC chief George Dondero spent three days in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa visiting Progressive Rail operations and talking with the company’s banker, their clients, economic development officials, and the mayor of Lakeville, Minnesota, where Progressive is based.

“Did you meet with any people to discuss adverse effects?” asked fellow commissioner Randy Johnson.

“I would say not,” said Bottorff. “The mayor was very candid with us.”

Dondero pointed out Progressive Rail has an employee profit-sharing plan.

A decision is pending in Wisconsin on Progressive Rail’s request to close a public road to allow for trains a mile-and-a-half long; local officials object, saying that would hinder emergency services.

In other action: The RTC board unanimously accepted the 2040 Regional Transportation Plan detailing $7 billion in investments, including auxiliary lanes on Highway 1 between State Park Drive in Aptos and Soquel Avenue, bike and pedestrian crossings over Highway 1 at Chanticleer Avenue and Mar Vista Drive, patrols on Highway 1 and Highway 17, expanded bus service for UC Santa Cruz students, South County and San Jose commuters, trail construction, projects to increase bicycle commuting and expanding services to senior citizens and people with disabilities.

So far, $3.75 billion is available, which means some projects will not be done unless more money is generated.